On Shanny

If his name were not Brendan Shanahan — if he were, say, Brandon Shaughnessy — I’m not sure you’d be seeing No. 14 on the power play, or even in the lineup the last two games.

Shanahan admits his timing is a tad off, and his legs are not quite back to where he was prior to the concussion. But he’s likely only to improve the more games he gets under his belt.

In fact, if you really want to be optimistic about your hockey team, consider the following: for most of the season a concern was Tom Renney wearing Shanahan down with heavy use over a long schedule. But now the Rangers are entering the last six games of the regular season and then potentially the playoffs, and Shanahan is likely to be the freshest player among them.

I realize it’s more complicated than that seeing how no one’s going to confuse post-concussion symptoms with a spa treatment. But there’s always the chance Shanahan’s 38-year-old legs got a needed break in the process.

i am wiiling to wait as a fan for shanny to get his timing back another game or two as long as it does not cost us games.that being said,shanny was awful today,he looked like his legs were glued to the ice.

bklynblue-this my quick comments on the game today,what do you think?
they looked as bad today as yesturday.ALL HAIL THE KING!!!!
they should have all gotten on their knees after the game and bow at his royal highnessÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s feet.particularly bad today were malik as allways,prucha,straka,jagr,shany looked like he had his feet glued together.but he has certainly earned patience from us fans,so will wait another game or two until we flip out.does anyone know if cally played?i saw him on the bench but apparently he was glued to it.the hyena is setting the stage for hossa to replace him.he will claim that he needs to go back down and learn some more positioning,or renneyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s favorite,he needs to play top six minutes.i will say once again that callahan is the best forward prospect on this team since tony amonte.he needs to be put in on the power play and on jagrÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s line instead of straka.girardi again was the best dman today along with pock.and why is mara not on the point on a 5on3?i really thought that renney was back to his old ways of trying to steal defeat from the jaws of victory.i am gald that we won the game tonight,and even happy that we are now in sixth place and are also only one point behid atlanta.but i am not happy at all with the last two games and how theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve reverted back to their style of play midway through the season.the only difference now versus then is that the king now is just standing on his head,where as before he was just good.the need to break up the lines again.they are not generating enough offence again and itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s going to cost them.

We need to calm down with the Shanny stuff. It isnt a big seal. he hasnt been too bad. He set up the game winning goal and has average 1 pt a game since his return. Dont worry about him. he will get back into shape and be at midseason form before we know it

czech thought Prucha and Jagr had a good game today, just a littlr snakebit. They are depending on good luck & The King a little too much. They definitely can play better and have this month. It’s up to the Professor to progress, rather than regress just because they’re collecting most of the points available. They better have at least 1-2 notches to kick it up if they want to make the playoffs and do some damage. Get Straka off Jagr’s line. I’d be daring and try Orr or Hollweg up there at least few shifts. Put Orts on the 4th, Callahan on the 3rd with Prucha & Cullen, Straka on the 2nd with Shanny & Avery.

Yesterday they were dreadful and didnt even show up. Today they got outshot because the Refs were dreadful. they called every little thing the Rangers did and that showed in shots colimn, but thankfully Hank didnt let it show in the goals column. Henrik stole this game from the Refs. The Icelanders did not do much at even strength

It is very hard to pressure the opposition with a 1-2-2 system that the Rangers insist on revisiting this weekend. It lets the opposition get a free out of their own zone. It allows the opposition’s defensemen to relax and re organize their breakout plays. It is a recipe for being outshot and forces our goalie to work more. It is horrible in my opinion.
Straka -Nylander- Jagr is a BAD line. It again allows the opposition an easy game plan. 5 on 5 and on the power play. Mara must play the whole power play. Thats his strength. Pock and Rosival can split the other point.
Avery must move back to wing. Starka must go back to center. Nothing has changed from the middle of the year. The Straka-Nylander -Jagr combo still screws up the rest of the lines.

JohnM nailed it. What got the team rolling was playing with an edge and forcing teams down deep. The lines since Shanahan returned have been the reason why the Team was lucky to get two wins this weekend.

You can still play Shanahan, just not as many minutes 5 on 5, and let him work his way into shape. Understand that at this point in the season, the frequency of games prohibits teams from practicing often. So if you want any return from #14 you have to invest about 13-15 minutes a night into him.

I think Shanny will ease back into things – lets not forget he’s till picked up 3 assists – and that was a pretty smart play to Nyls for the winner last night. Avery and Callahan seem to have plenty of energy, if that line sticks it could yield some goals this week.
I think the lines are OK – of more interest to me is how the D will shape up when Toots and Carol the Raccoon are fit and ready to go (in the next few weeks). Struds hasn’t looked great since his return, he would be my first to be replaced.

BklynBlue: I agree, Henrik has been fantastic since about mid January. I was saying that he was pretty inconsistent and even lousy at times earlier in the season.

The offense was explosive to start the season. If he had been playing goal even half as well then as he is now, we would be 1st in the division. That’s what I was saying. Unfortunately, just as Henrik heated up, the offense went cold.

JohnM Renney keeps talking about forcing the other team to come 2oo’ and the 4th line seems to get that done. But he didn’t take into account a goalie who can pass 100′ , so line changes had to be handled differently, which they weren’t. They hav to get better at dumping into the corner so they can change, and really have to practice getting it out of their own zone. I get the feeling it’s preached to them, but not enforced enough. The key now is to eliminate mistakes, not to just get away with them. Luckily the King is playing like plexiglass. The way they play the need 7 D in the lineup. Both Strudwick and Pock can do that. I just hate to see the 4th line have to absorb that. What do you think about trying Orr or Hollweg with Jagr rather than Straka or Missbister, since Renney refuses to force Straka to get more rest? Shanny needs to play to get back into game shape, Straka doesn’t, he needs to heal.

Here’s the quote of the day from our clown, I meant Renney, after the game:

“Whether we were the better team on the ice is insignificant,” said Tom Renney. “We won.”

Is he freakin kidding me?!? let’s see, about 16 penalties in two games….defense sucking, large part of the wonderful playing of our pal Malik! I could go on, but I think we all know where that convo will go.

If they don’t stay out of the box, they will go nowhere. They’ll burn themselves right out playing special teams all the time.

“Personally, I’m pretty tired after playing back-to-back games after a month off,” Shanahan said. “I’m trying to get my timing back and my game legs back where I want to be, but it’s nice to be at the back end of back-to-backers playing a long shift in overtime and be involved in a play like that.”

Shanahan played 17:22 yesterday and was partially pleased with his stamina. “I’m happy where it is, considering, but Tom [Renney] is holding me back a little bit and I understand that,” he said. “I still need to get in a few more practices and a few more games and then I’m sure once that happens, I’ll be involved in more of the penalty kills, too.”

You all forgot to mention the blatant overpassing on the five on three where they passed like 12 times in and shot onece in the first 45 seconds of it. I was ripping my hair out while listening to the radio feed. It is also amazing to listen to the feed and count the number of times that Malik and phrases like “coughs it up” or “turns it over” or “gives it away” are mentioned yesterday I counted four on one shift. Maybe Tom needs to hear it because he obviously can’t see it.

Of the Rangers six remaining games….4 are against teams trying to get in the play-offs(Montreal twice, Islanders, Toronto, 1 against a team playing out the string(Philly) and the last game of the season against a team that should have it play-off seeding set when they play on the last game of the season(Pittsburgh)

Phily will be looking for some revenge that game…but I feel that we have to win 4 of those games….the 2 at home and then all we have to do is win 2 of the remaining and we are in the 6th seed with 95 points and play Atlanta or Tampa Bay on in the 1st round

No one has been talking about it because of Henrik, Hollweg and Shanahan stories but the Toronto Star got it right. Avery has been the best acquisition by any team before the deadline. As much as I hate to (and I do hate to), our GM or whoever pushed for this trade (Shanny?) got it right. He’s changed the dynamics of this team around fundamentally for the better with his sandpaper.http://www.thestar.com/article/196000

I also am of the opinion that we might not be having any discussions about Malik if his last name was, in deed, Smith.

Vogs, I don’t believe that Malik is a scapegoat for Ranger fans. His performance against Boston on Saturday was the single worst game I have ever witnessed a player have, that had significant ice time.

I do remember Valeri Kamensky, though. I was at the game when he was skating in a manner that would break no sweat at all. He checked noone. He had the puck at mid ice on a clear breakaway, but it was at the end of his very short shift. He took one hand off the stick and waved at the puck, missing, shrugged his shoulders and left.

The fans erupted in one of the most explosive and spontaneous booing that I have ever personally heard at the Garden.
After that shift, he rarely went on the ice again.

the difference is that Malik seems to get rewarded with more ice time. I would use the word “universal” to describe how Ranger fans feel about his play. Of course there are always exceptions, but you do not build a principle on an exception. 15,000 Ranger fans boo’d him vehemently, and Al Trautwig got on the air to say, “I just don’t understand why…” (they sound, absent JD, like they read cue cards, at times). This was an insult to all the NY fans. NY fans are very sophisticated and KNOW this game.

Malik’s play, all season, has been consistently below NHL standards. I cannot even imagine what went through Thomas Pock’s mind, game after game, watching Malik trouble Lundqvst, while sitting in street clothes, high up watching and wondering how and why this man gets ice time.

Renney is defiant. After a particularly LOUD boo’ing at the Garden, Malik was awarded the “A”.

His play can be described as slow, cumbersome, non-contact, confused, and lost. Every so often, his 6’6″ frame poke checks a puck away. If he is night, Chara is day. 3″ separate them.

He does not appear to be talented enough for the NHL, no less 22 minutes per game. Renney has him in the last minute of every single one-goal game that I have seen so far this year. (I have not missed one yet—even if it meant having to tape it because of work)….the NHL Center Ice package affords you other announcers who are not afraid of Jim Dolan.

They can openly question Malik’s play, or openly say “well, I don’t work for the New York Rangers and there is a lot of criticism that they don’t play kids, but I do not at all see Ryan Callahan going back to Hartford” without fear of repurcussion from our pint-sized narcissistic addict, Napoleon Dolan.

well said. Avery is a Shanny type player, not a Jagr player. I hope we tie him up for 4 years. We need his agression AND he can score. We have some aggressive guys who break records for not scoring. Avery was a steal.

I look forward to next year when Lundqvst will have a better defensive corp around him.

And, to be honest, as long as he is the hottest goaltender in the NHL, there is no telling how far he can take us in the playoffs. Other teams HAVE to score a goal against him to beat us.

He takes a 9th place team and gives us hope. Avery brought in fresh air. Callahan appears to be copying the Shanny/Avery hockey with his aggression as well. I don’t think he was this aggressive in Hartford.

Cullen appears rejuvinated. Girardi has been steady.

As great as a stand up guy as Jed is, he needs to stop taking penalties. he even malik’d the puck in his own end once, which is not like him. He is a smart player, but in Hartford, we may have guys just like him (and Hollweg) who can also score a few goals….

On the telecast yesterday Brett Hull said that he thought that Rangers could go all the way. Maybe a little optomistic but with another coach, it could happen. We know that Renney will continue to play a hurt Straka, an absolutely horrible Malik, and will sit Callahan entirely when Hossa returns. I’m also worried about Girardi when “Toots” and “Racoon” come back.

Your wrong…..NYR beat TBL 4 – 1…nearly shut them out but a goal was in the last minute and change…then they beat us 2 in a row. then we beat them by shutting them out…..

The way we need it to be is…We keep on winning and trying to get points in the remaining 6 games..we need ATL to lose alot of games. and we want TBL to win all there games..this is how i want the playoffs

So i want CAR to win..then ATL…then NYR obviously…Then honestly i dont know who i want to win between pens and sens.

Teams id love to face in playoffs are CAR and TBL…cause we can easily beat them in a 7 game series…ATL i think we can take but it will be tough..Hossa and Kovulchuk havent been in the playoffs or at least in a while so who knows…

Longtime – I wouldn’t worry about Girardi’s spot; it was solidified before. We can tell from past experience that PÃƒÂ¶ck’s spot should be worried about. But I doubt Rachunek will make it back in time to get enough practice and conditioning for the first round, so PÃƒÂ¶ck should probably be in there. Remember, Rachunek needs at least an extra week after Tyutin returns.

Malik has no business whatsoever being on the point on the power play. I wouldnt be nearly as annoyed with him if he didnt flub shots from the point on the power play with Mara, Roszival, or Cullen sitting on the bench. That kind of crap defies explanation.

Girardi is going no where…pock is the one who will be benched, should rachunek return..Hossa is very interesting..i think alot will depend on how Callahan finishes the season. it would be very hard to breakup the betts line of orr and hollweg…ortmeyer is one of our top Pkillers as long as it’s not him in the box..My money would still be on callahan, but if he’s ripping it up, then maybe 1 of orr/hollweg/ortmeyer gets the press box…

Be very scared if we draw Atlanta in the first round. I was in Atlanta on a business trip a couple of weeks ago and I was able to catch ATL vs. OTT. They looked pretty awesome at home. Ottawa was up 2-1 going into the 3rd period, looked like they had a lock on the game, but Atlanta exploded with 3 goals to put them away 4-2.

It was just after the trade deadline and the Thrashers had just gotten Tkachuk, Zhitnik, and Dupuis. Eric Belanger (acquired from Carolina) scored 2 goals, and Dupuis scored the game winner.

It’s going to be very tough for a team to give up the home-ice advantage to the Thrashers and still pull out the series. If I had my ‘druthers, I’d rather face Tampa Bay in the first round.

I sure hope you are wrong about Callahan being sat when Hossa comes back….we need scoring and can make room for both………………

as to the Rangers going all the way, when you have an unstoppable goaltender, really, anything is possible. I know that most of us have no confidence in the coach, but in spite of his ridiculous loyalty to Malik, his bizzaro world of ice time, and so much else, if the goalie doesn’t let anything in, we have a win. Period. I know that we cannot burden him with power play after power play, or let Malik stand in front of him looking to head-butt the puck past him, but….

man, is Lundqvst hot. He gives us a chance in any game, right now. any game.

Strange how Marty and the Devils are cooling off as we are heating up. Mirror image of last year………..Brodeur was UNSTOPPABLE and we were unable to stop our downward slide.

That Malik is the luckiest SOB in the entire world. Despite handing the puck to opposing players on a regular basis and getting out of their way so they can get unobstructed shots at the goalie, he still is one of the leaders in plus-minus in the best hockey league in the world over the last few seasons with two different teams.

BTW, can anyone figure out how many even-strength goals Malik has been on the ice for during the past 14 games? I’ll bet not more than a few. Yeah, he sure is killing the team.

I would agree that Malik had a bad start to the season and he had a bad game against Boston. But he largely has been a stellar player for this team. If fans don’t like him, it just demonstrates how little they know, nothing more or less. I don’t remember fans having a problem with Aaron Ward, who sucked. Fans always have a prejudice against big finesse players, even moreso Europeans.

Malik gets his plus rating from playing with the Jagr line in NY, AND with the Naslund-Bertuzzi line in Van. when they were at their peak.

those lines have the puck most of the time, thus there is very little for a dman to do vs. the opponents, the opponents are chasing the puck for most of the shifts, and when they do get it, it is usually a Malik turnover, and then Henrik makes a great save and bails him out.

for cripe sake, watch the games, and get your head out of the stat book.